Calibration is very important to keep the quality of the colour reproduction high. The environment of your print system influences the print quality. A constant temperature and humidity are essential for consistent colour output. (Installation precautions)
The print system automatically keeps the print quality as high as possible. However, additional calibration is essential to keep the colour reproduction level stable for all media types you use. PRISMAsync offers a structured workflow and feedback mechanism to integrate calibration into your daily work.
There are two types of calibrations: the printer calibration and the media family calibration.
This topic describes:
Printer calibration
Media for printer calibration
Media family calibration
Media for media family calibration
Additional feedback on media family calibration
Recommended calibration scenario
Printer calibration has two procedures:
Automatic gradation adjustment
The automatic gradation adjustment includes precise adjustments of the gradation, density and colour quality of the primary colours.
Shading correction
The shading correction includes precise adjustments of slightly uneven colour densities in colour planes.
The printer calibration settings on the control panel show which printer calibration procedures are configured for your print system. The dashboard of the control panel will show the printer calibration indicator
when printer calibration is required.
Configuration of printer calibration
If required, consult a colour expert to decide what you need to configure for printer calibration and how often to perform the printer calibration to achieve the required colour quality.
IMPORTANT
It is strongly advised to configure at least the automatic gradation adjustment for daily printer calibration.
IMPORTANT
It is strongly advised to perform the shading correction once after the installation of the print system.
You can configure the required printer calibration procedures in the Settings Editor. Then, the operator receives a daily reminder to perform the printer calibration. (Configure printer calibration)
The printer and media family calibration need media to print measurement charts on.
Media for the printer calibration
You define and see the media for the printer calibration in the Settings Editor. Location: .
The following media is recommended for printer calibration:
Top Colour Zero FSC (100 g/m² / 27 lb bond)
Canon CS-814 (81.4 g/m² / 22 lb bond)
Mondi Neusiedler (100 g/m² / 27 lb bond)
International Paper Hammermill Color Copy Digital (105 g/m² / 28 lb bond)
When the recommended media is not sufficiently available, you can use custom media for automatic gradation adjustment. (Register the custom media for automatic gradation adjustment)
PRISMAsync provides default coated and uncoated media families. A media family is a set of media with the same output profiles (one per halftone) and calibration curves. A media family calibration applies to all media of the media family. You only have to perform a media family calibration for one media of the media family.
You can calibrate a media family manually with the i1 spectrophotometer or automatically with the inline spectrophotometer. The inline spectrophotometer must be calibrated once with the 1i spectrophotometer to guarantee the same high print quality regardless which meter is used. This one-time calibration will take place the first time you calibrate a new media family.
You can reduce the lead time for media family calibration while maintaining the same print quality when you use the halftone Normal as basis for all halftones. For colour critical copy jobs you are advised to calibrate the media family for all halftones: Normal, Fine and Error diffusion.
You define the default calibration media for a media family the first time you perform a media family calibration for that media family. Make sure you use the same calibration media to represent the media family, each time you perform a media family calibration.
When media family calibration is completed, the control panel will show the following feedback to inform you how well colours are reproduced:
Comparison with the previous calibration procedure
The comparison with the previous calibration informs you how urgent this media family calibration was needed. This feedback helps you to determine how often media family calibration is required.
Measurement of paper white and primary colours
The feedback on the measured paper white and primary colours window shows how close the measured paper white and primary colours approach the reference values. The reference values are taken during the first media family calibration or when you create a new profile with the embedded profiler.
Measurement accuracy in numbers and heatmaps
The measurement accuracy information shows one or more heatmaps that indicate how accurately the patches were measured. PRISMAsync Print Server uses tolerance levels for patch measurements. Based on the configured tolerance levels, heatmap patches turn green, orange-like or red. The heatmap can indicate a possible problem. When you want to change the tolerance values, contact your Service organisation.
For more information about colour differences, see Learn about colour differences and tolerances.
IMPORTANT
You are advised to follow the next calibration scenario to keep the image quality high:
Perform the printer calibration daily. (Calibrate the printer)
Perform the shading correction once. (Perform a shading correction)
Perform the media family calibration regularly. (Calibrate a media family)
Additional procedures are not necessary to keep the print quality high.